After a century of worship, I became the ancestor of the tribe.

Chapter 354 Mid-stage of the fifth rank, advancing to the fifth rank in succession!
Before coming to find Shen Can, Huoshan had been thinking about it for a long time, and he had even discussed it with Huotang.

Volcano felt he didn't have much of a chance of advancing to the true fifth rank. He had already benefited from the development of the Bo tribe by cultivating to the peak of the Divine Treasury.

Instead of wasting time waiting for the uncertain advancement to the fifth rank, it would be better to refine a fifth-rank stone to achieve a pseudo-fifth rank, then guard the tribe and alliance for decades or even centuries before passing the position on to the next generation.

Just like the fire tower back then.

Although the Zhiyan tribe has only been developing for a little over a hundred years, the journey it has taken is comparable to that of other tribes that have been developing for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

Volcano deeply feels its own inadequacy; it's already exhausting to have survived all these years.

"The tribes and alliances are developing rapidly, and perhaps in a few decades there will be earth-shattering changes, with the potential to break through to the true fifth tier."

“Ah Can, I’ve repeatedly relied on external forces to break through to the fourth rank. Our clan has already developed. The resources used to help me break through to the fifth rank might allow the clan to produce two or three more fifth-rank members.”

"Eat as much food as you can handle. Being able to cultivate to this level is something I never dared to dream of before. I am content."

As he spoke, Volcano took out a jade slip and handed it to Shen Can.

"This contains information on more than a dozen martial artists of the Yan generation in our clan, as well as what they have done in our clan and the alliance over the years. Take a look at them when you have time. Brother A-Tang, Huo Zhang, and I are planning to select the next clan leader from this."

"Let's go, we still have things to do at the league."

Having said that, Volcano turned around with a carefree air and headed towards the Alliance's main city.

After glancing at the information in the jade slip, Shen Can put it away and headed towards the ancestral temple.

"Ayu, gather all the clansmen mentioned on the jade slip to the ancestral temple and wait for my return."

After handing the jade slip to Ayu, Shen Can headed towards the Juyue Mountains.

Today, in the Juyue Mountains, which stretch for over a million miles from west to east, tens of millions of people are busy working, recruiting warriors from various tribes to split mountains and cleave rocks, making the initial preparations for building the formation.

The array masters and craftsmen began to build arrays on the leveled ground.

Over the years, more than 17,000 fourth-order formations have been built within the Juyue Mountains. Based on the principle that five fourth-order five-element formations form the base of a fifth-order formation, only more than 3,000 fifth-order formation bases have been constructed.

Compared to the expected 129,600 fifth-order array bases both inside and outside, it is still far from enough.

Shen Can inspected each formation from west to east, all the way to the eastern part of the Juyue Mountains.

After attracting the attention of the Pu Clan, the construction of the array in the eastern part of Juyue slowed down, and most of the Alliance craftsmen were transferred to the western part of Juyue.

The purpose of doing this is to prevent too many Pu tribes from coming over, which would attract more of their attention.

As for his clone, Yu Lingbo, he is currently doing well and is looking for a suitable clone. Shen Can plans to go to the Pu Clan's royal court after advancing to the mid-stage of the fifth rank to take care of this matter.

After returning from the Juyue Mountains, he went back to his cave to begin seclusion, preparing to awaken the spirituality of the stone within him.

Inside the divine treasury, there is a stone statue that resembles a human and bears traces of a wild beast. Its surface is as rough as weathered stone, and even after decades of being washed by blood and qi, it still shows no trace of smoothness.

A stone without spirit is just a stubborn rock.

In the ancient city of Tushang, some fifth-tier cultivators hunt down fifth-tier auspicious beasts in order to advance to the mid-stage of the fifth tier, taking the souls of these beasts and infusing them into their bodies, thus allowing their stone forms to develop spirituality.

This practice is somewhat similar to the method by which a certain magical artifact gives birth to a spirit.

This method is feasible, but it has endless consequences. Bringing the soul of a mythical beast into one's body is equivalent to having an extra soul within the same physical body, which will inevitably lead to conflict sooner or later.

This method is mostly used by martial artists who are unwilling to die of old age at the mid-stage of the fifth rank. In order to advance their realm and gain more lifespan, they no longer care about any side effects.

In the Great Wilderness, many races believe that the soul and the body are one, meaning that the soul permeates every corner of the flesh and blood.

When some people are injured, not only do their bodies suffer, but their energy and spirit also decline rapidly, manifesting outwardly as pale complexion and lethargy.

Because of the physical injury, the soul power within its flesh and blood is also damaged, requiring a long period of nourishment to recover.

Therefore, the purpose of communicating with the spirit in stone statues is to transform them into entities capable of storing divine souls, just like the rest of the body.

This theory comes from Shen Can's soul-searching memories of the spirit Jinze. He currently has no way of proving whether this theory is correct or not.

However, to be fair, this theory is sufficient for a martial artist to advance from the Stone Phase to the Spirit Phase.

The Stone Form is formed within a martial artist's body after advancing to the fifth rank, condensed from pure blood and qi. It is a newly formed entity, and it is normal for it to initially have a distance from the original body.

To eliminate this barrier, one must naturally integrate the stone form with one's own flesh and blood.

In this situation, the stone form is transformed into one's own flesh and blood, merging with one's own life force, and can store one's own soul. Isn't that 'spiritual communication'?
Shen Can sat cross-legged in his cave, quietly adjusting his breathing for several days. His blood and qi circulated through his body again and again, and his condition was very stable.

Within the divine treasure, the blood energy radiated a five-colored glow like fine wine, and the surging waves continuously pounded against the stone statues.

There are beads of blood-like energy rolling off the surface of the stone, and its rough appearance makes it look like it was carved by a half-baked sculptor.

At one moment, Shen Can's body suddenly trembled, and his spine roared like a great dragon.

The blood and marrow within the bones shone like a crimson sunset, instantly engulfing every bone in the body.

Bathed in the glow of the sunset, the bones, veins, and flesh of the warrior were all clearly visible, and a rich vitality surged forth from every inch of his body at that moment.

It's like a towering tree, with the spine as the main trunk reaching to the heavens, the other bones as branches, and the celestial veins, flesh and blood, and even smaller meridians as the dense branches and leaves of the tree.

Each of the five elemental beast patterns is like a fruit, hanging on every corner of the body.

At this moment, Shen Can's energy and spirit suddenly reached their peak, converging into his divine treasure like a tidal wave within his body.

Vitality, blood and spirit converged, mobilizing all the energy in the body to surge towards the stone.

The stone trembled violently, its rough surface shaking.

At this moment, Shen Can mobilized the vitality, blood energy, and divine sense that had surged into the stone, and began to continuously 'carve' this 'stone' that had previously only been condensed from blood energy, allowing it to undergo a transformation little by little.

The surface of the stone quickly became covered with a scene of blood red and five colors, and even a state similar to the afterimage of a spirit.

Shen Can ignored these strange phenomena; they were all illusions, mere phantom scenes that appeared after vitality, blood, and consciousness entered the stone form.

Gradually, the surface of the stone began to show a glimmer of light, no longer the rough stone skin, and a warm luster began to emerge on the surface.

The transformation process was not fast, and Shen Can was also sensing the changes inside and outside the stone.

The stone statue's interior and exterior gradually became stained with patterns identical to the animal runes that appeared on its internal bones.

The luster started from the base of the stone statue and spread upwards little by little. After an unknown amount of time, the luster gradually appeared on the face of the stone statue, like a withered old man whose face suddenly became rosy.

When the luster spread throughout the entire stone statue, Shen Can immediately sensed a connection between the stone statue and the physical body, an inseparable link was being formed, and the aura of the stone statue began to continuously transform into the aura of flesh and blood.

It's not enough for the surface to just have a sheen and for the aura to gradually change; the stone's appearance needs to be completely consistent with the aura of flesh and blood from the outside in, so that the stone itself can also become a part of the soul that carries it.

Outside the cave, some movement began to occur.

For many years, the Blazing Flame Tribe has been drawing upon starlight to transform the power of the five elements, resulting in a source energy concentration within the tribe that far exceeds that of the outside world. In some areas, it has already reached a level where fifth-order beings can begin to cultivate.

At this moment, the source energy from all directions outside the cave was drawn in, and the source energy wandering in the void quickly converged towards the cave.

Later, the area affected grew larger and larger, exceeding a radius of thousands of miles, and continued to expand outwards. Even so, this source energy was still insufficient to support Shen Can's cultivation.

Before going into seclusion to cultivate, Shen Can took out all the fifth-tier source stones he had and placed them beside him. In addition to the more than thirty stones he obtained from the artifact spirit Jin Ze, he also obtained more than a dozen fifth-tier source stones from the fifth-tier person he killed in the Pu Clan, along with more than a dozen fifth-tier treasure pills prepared by the clan.

At this moment, all the source stones and precious pills turned into powder, and the source energy within them gathered towards Shen Can's body, flowing through his pores into his limbs and bones, replenishing the energy consumed in this breakthrough.

Shen Can was also completely immersed in the process of awakening the spirit of the stone image. He used the primal vitality released from his own spine and the bones of his entire body to suppress the beast patterns that were beginning to stir on the stone image and bones, allowing his essence, energy and spirit to continuously flow into the stone image.

The stone form is a condensation of blood and qi, not true flesh and blood. However, in this transformation process, it is beginning to change in a direction similar to flesh and blood, and the cold stone form is beginning to have warmth.

……

Within the Blazing Flame Clan, many clansmen looked towards the cave where Shen Can was cultivating. Even those clansmen who had been honing their skills with the help of the Overturning Water Mountain Ape in the nearby Beast Mountain hurriedly retreated into the distance.

The aura released by the temple's practitioners during their cultivation was so overwhelming that they could only quickly move away.

The energy vortex that emerged from the direction of the cave was so powerful that it tore apart the surrounding source energy and stirred up a gale that swept across the hillside.

This scene lasted for three days.

But Shen Can did not emerge from seclusion three days later.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year has passed.

hum!
Inside the cave, Shen Can, who was sitting cross-legged, opened and closed his eyes. The stone statue sitting cross-legged in the divine treasure also opened its eyes, and two beams of light shot out from its eyes.

Within its crystalline body, the layout of battle bones and celestial veins can be clearly seen.

With a buzzing sound, 'Stone Image' suddenly rose from within the divine treasure and shot out of Shen Can's body, standing in front of him.

It was as lifelike as a real person, and its flesh, blood, and soul were exactly the same as the original.

The spiritual image has been formed!

The only thing that Shen Can was dissatisfied with was that the spirit form was humanoid, with animal scales formed by animal patterns on its body and a small tail on its back.

"Isn't this the Nascent Soul stage?!"

Shen Can poked his spiritual form and felt a connection between them, as if they were one. He was the spiritual form, and the spiritual form was him.

Then, he reached out and pried open Lingxiang's mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

"It's not a Nascent Soul, it's a Beast Infant."

Then, Shen Can pulled down Ling Xiang's lower eyelids and found that his eyes were very clear, without the violent aura of a wild beast.

She turned around and tugged at the little tail.

I must say, it's quite interesting.

"come back."

Subsequently, the spirit returned to its body and went back to the location of the divine treasure.

Compared to the previous dull and dazed state of the stone phase, after the spirit phase entered the divine treasury, it began to breathe in and exhale the primordial power and blood energy on its own.

Advancing from the Stone Form to the Spirit Form is difficult, but once you advance to the Spirit Form, as long as the opportunity isn't too bad, there's a 50% chance you can advance to the Dharma Form level.

This level is similar to the Dharma Form Heaven and Earth, which is the enlargement of 'form'.

The divine power of the Dharma Body is very strong; each strike has the power to destroy the heavens and the earth.

After advancing to the mid-stage of the fifth rank, Shen Can rested for a while and returned to the ancestral temple.

Fifteen young martial artists were already waiting for him here, each of them at least at the mid-stage of the Divine Realm, with the two with the highest realms, Yan Song and Yan Jiang, already at the late-stage of the Divine Realm.

Yan Jiang's aura was still somewhat weak, clearly indicating that he had just advanced while Shen Can was in seclusion.

The remaining thirteen mid-stage Divine Realm experts were all brimming with blood and energy, their auras as powerful as a rainbow.

"I have seen the temple."

Upon seeing Shen Can appear, the fifteen people all bowed.

Before Shen Can returned, they all worked at the ancestral temple, helping with the sacrificial rites by cleaning the temple and arranging offerings.

Shen Can scanned the crowd, Yan Zhong, Yan Fu... he knew the cultivation history of each person in his heart.

He didn't try to hide anything and continued, "I have some tasks for you."

Upon hearing this, everyone present showed expressions of excitement.

Being valued by the temple and working for the temple is something everyone in the tribe dreams of.

Shen Can then assigned them some tasks, and he needed to observe the area for a while longer.

Similarly, the next clan leader is not necessarily chosen from these fifteen people; other members of the clan also have a chance.

Time flies, years pass.

After Shen Can advanced to the mid-stage of the fifth rank, the entire alliance enjoyed a period of peace. Various tribes encouraged reproduction, and the fields yielded bountiful harvests year after year, which made the human races in various states increasingly support the alliance.

In the days that followed, Volcano, the chieftain of the Alliance tribe, spent thirteen years successfully refining a stone statue from the Pu tribe, which was then promoted to the pseudo-fifth rank.

Although it is a stone form of a different race, it is originally a cultivation method for observing wild beasts for the human race. Even the fifth-order realm is called the Beast Form Realm. By chance, it has gained the power to encompass all races.

The volcano's advancement to pseudo-fifth rank has spurred several powerful chieftains within the alliance.

For example, the elderly Lord of the Great Wilderness, even though he's a fake fifth-tier cultivator, is still a fifth-tier cultivator.

The later-promoted Earls of Jusha and Xiashan fell into silence.

With such a strong foundation, the Alliance Leader has already refined the Stone Form to achieve a pseudo-fifth rank. Doesn't that mean their chances of advancing to the fifth rank are slim?

The Giant Sands tribe had considered this point, but after suddenly advancing to the peak of the Divine Treasury Realm, their long-dormant martial arts heart was rekindled, and they felt as if they had returned to their youth, with the illusion of taking another step forward.

But as the volcano advanced to the pseudo-fifth rank, it suddenly returned to reality.

The alliance's various hall elders were handling things on their own, and Shen Can also focused his attention on the construction of the Giant Mountain Range Grand Array.

More than 30 years have passed in the blink of an eye.

This night.

Above the Juyue Mountains, the stars shone brightly, and beams of starlight were drawn towards and converged on the giant beast's avatar high in the sky.

Shen Can flew with the Weaver Girl to a high place, intending for her to take advantage of the opportunity brought about by the giant beast's avatar's breakthrough.

(End of this chapter)